Shipping companies use shipping containers to transport loads of goods over long distances via ship, rail, truck, or airplane. Shipping containers are large, usually metal boxes such as intermodal containers, rail cars, and over-the-road containers. To ship a load of palletized goods using a shipping container, the pallets of goods are first loaded into the interior of the shipping container, typically until the shipping container reaches a maximum weight limit or a maximum volume limit. In many cases the pallets of goods don't completely fill the interior of the shipping container, which means voids exist within the load (e.g., between the pallets of goods themselves) and/or between load and the interior walls of the shipping container (e.g., between the pallets of goods and the interior walls of the shipping container). If the voids aren't minimized or the load isn't secured against movement, the pallets of goods could shift during transit and collide with one another and the interior walls of the shipping container, damaging the goods (and the shipping container).
Inflatable dunnage bags are commonly used to stabilize the load in a shipping container. After some or all of the pallets of goods are loaded into the shipping container, an installer positions deflated dunnage bags in the voids within the load (e.g., between pallets of goods) and/or between the load and the interior walls of the shipping container (e.g., between the pallets of goods and the interior walls of the shipping container). The installer then inflates the dunnage bags to an operating pressure using a compressed air source, such as a pneumatic compressor. After inflation, the dunnage bags generally prevent the pallets of goods from moving relative to one another and relative to the shipping container while acting as cushions to dampen forces imparted during transit.
Positioning and inflating dunnage bags can be difficult when pallets of goods are stacked to the ceiling of the shipping container, especially considering that most intermodal containers have an internal height of more than 7½ feet. When using a dunnage bag to secure pallets of goods stacked to the ceiling of the shipping container, the dunnage bag is typically positioned such that its longitudinal midpoint is at or near the vertical midpoint of the load such that the dunnage bag does not contact the floor of the shipping container. This means that the dunnage bag must be suspended above the floor while being inflated. This typically requires multiple installers: one to suspend the dunnage bag in place and another to operate the inflator.